4:30 is just way too early. Not only is it an ungodly hour, it is too early for hot water, breakfast, and public transportation as well apparently. We were forced to take an early morning flight to Cairns in order to catch the Greyhound buses leaving for Mission Beach which is our next stop. This is ending up being an expensive day. Since the buses weren’t leaving we had to get a cab to the airport ($70) and our flight to Cairns was about Jet Star which despite its slick logo and attractive flight attendants, is the same as the nickel and diming Spirit Airlines in the US.
My tone is cranky because we were told at the gate that our backpacks were too large to fit in the overhead bins and we would be charged $80 each to check them. Nice. I could fit one of these many three year old children whose parents are allowing them to run up and down the aisles playing tag or something while we are in midair into the overhead bins with no problem. Every five or ten minutes or so one of them trips and faceplants and then screaming ensues. After that the cycle begins again. Nevermind the five dollar drink, when do we land!?
Okay so we landed and disembarked through the very strange Cairns airport campus. The building containing the jetways was separate from the building where the passengers wait which is separate from the arrivals hall which is separate from the baggage claim. And by separate I mean we had to go outside and walk around on pathways. Welcome to the University of Cairns International Airport! But once we got our bags and caught our taxi to the center of Cairns and were seated aboard the Greyhound bus I finally felt the grumpiness start to lift. And after an hour and a half of driving through corn and banana farms (yeah I didn’t know they could co-exist either) we arrived at Mission Beach.
Mission Beach is, as advertised, a very sleepy little beach town. Actually a lot sleepier and rural than we were expecting. We were kind of expecting a little beach town nestled on a few blocks between the beach and the rainforest sort of like what can be found on the Lake Michigan coast (minus the rainforest) or even like the coastal towns we drove through yesterday. Mission Beach is much more rural – more like what I imagine coastal Maine would be like – as in, there isn’t hardly anyone there! But no matter, we went and checked into our hotel, the aging but beautiful Mission Beach Resort that is a throwback to the Motor Lodges of the 1950s. Our room opens up into a private patio on a grassy common area with a natural rock swimming pool/hot tub as a centerpiece. Coconut palms are everywhere!
After getting settled and doing some grocery shopping we walked down to the beach which was a little bit of a hike but not bad at all and it was through a quiet neighborhood. The beach is tremendous. It stretches in both directions as far as you can see and there are maybe 20 people in sight. The water is warmer than the air which is breezy, the waves are gentle. Bali Hai is off across the bay in the distance. Actually it’s called Dunk Island but when I first saw it I immediately thought of the musical, South Pacific. Bali Hai, my special island. . . .
We walked along the beach barefoot through the gentle surf until we reached the next little neighborhood where we got dinner at some Greek/Malaysian place that was just alright. But the people were very friendly and there was a cat named Sookie who kept us company while we waited.
There are also a lot of birds here! The owner of the restaurant pointed out to us the butcher birds that were making a huge racket. We heard something that sounded like a monkey laughing. I think it’s a laughing kookaburra because I just love to say “kookaburra.” We also saw what looked like a curlew? Gonna have to check the books on that one. No cassowaries yet though even though we are apparently in the thick of their habitat, which is exciting since they are supposedly more rare than giant pandas or Bengal tigers. We’ll keep our eyes peeled.
A great finish to a stinky beginning. I guess that evens out to a good day, right? So tomorrow, let’s see what this Great Barrier Reef is all about.
